


Something A Little Out of Sight

by Wordlesswriter



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-19
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-03-31 06:10:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3967390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wordlesswriter/pseuds/Wordlesswriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles has always been able to see them, these figures of white light, alive and moving. A part of a human's soul granted by Gaia to accompany them throughout their life. Stiles can see them when everyone else cannot. Stiles can see animal spirits.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. White Lights of an Animal Spirit

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Winged Soul](https://archiveofourown.org/works/539219) by [inukagome15](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inukagome15/pseuds/inukagome15). 



> Just a short story. It feels like it should be lengthy but I'm too lazy to write those slow burn fics.

Stiles has always been able to see them, these figures of white light, alive and moving. They vary in shapes and sizes. The first one he sees is his. It walks on its four legs and has bat-like wings. It likes to sleep on his tummy and when he learned to walk it would crawl up his arms and wrap itself around his shoulders. But unlike everyone his was blue, glowing like the great big blue sky on a cloudless day. Its body is the size of his fist and its wing span is as long as his arms.

The second one he sees was his mother's which always sticks close to him and press its body to keep him warm and comfortable like his mother. The third one is his dad's which looked almost like his mother's but its bulkier and strong where his mom's was lean and delicate, and it had some branches on its head. His father's light would chase after his wondering light when it went too far on its curious exploration. But most of the time it walks around him and his mother and their lights to keep them safe and protected.

He would reach out to them because he wants to play with them. Sometimes he can make his light play with them if he focus enough. But he is just three and focusing is hard when all he wanted to do is have fun and chase after these lights. At least when he plays his light will bound after him. Or when he gets too far from it, it'll disappear and reappear close to him.

Also, everyone had one. And each of them was a little different. He doesn’t like it when he touches them or they touch him or his light because when he touches them, he feels all kinds of weird and it feels wrong to touch them. Then, he’d feel sick and sometimes throw up. Sometimes he will end up crying hard out of nowhere because there’s something he wanted from them but it isn’t. The only exception to this is his parents’ lights. They always felt warm and safe and he’ll always feel loved by them. So he tends to not touch other peoples light as a general rule.

Stiles is 4 when he finds out his mother's light is a doe and his father's is a stag. He found a book of animals and was leafing through the pages when a picture of a little family of deer caught his attention. He immediately run to his mother asking why they weren't white (Stiles knows a lot about colors, oh please they were easy), why they looked like that. His mother looked confusedly at him and told him that's how they always looked. Stiles huffed annoyed and points out that they are white and promptly tells her mother to look at her light. His mom does but tells him she doesn't see anything. He turns to his dad who is watching them fondly at the couch and tells him to look at his. His dad smiles at him and it looks like he is about to say yes but then he says no, he can't see them. Stiles pouts, angry with his mom and dad because why are they lying? The lights are right there, in front of them, parading proudlyfor them to see.

It is then that he realizes he is the only one who can see them. This realization is further proven when he and his parents go out later. He will watch other people interact with their light, which he now knows are animals. They can't see them. The people moved without any care if they bump in to the lights. Still, their own lights will loyally follow them around. Now that he is paying a closer attention to them, he can see other lights will pass through other people. Still, it is horrifying to see the little animal lights being trampled by the crowd, albeit coming through whole and unharmed.

Stiles calls his animal light to crawl up to his shoulder and perch there safely. Unlike everybody else, sometimes his light can topple his brick tower or push his toys. He doesn't want his animal light to be hurt.

Later that day Stiles makes his mother name each and every animal on the book. They had flipped the final page but he doesn't see his. His mother asked how it looks like. So he showed her the parts of different animals and together they manage to find out what it is. it is a dragon. He names it Drake the Great Blue Dragon, coz why not? And it sounds cool.

His mom doesn’t have a book about it. But the next day they go to the library. It has so many books! The dragons in the books were really big and a bit scary and he tells his mother it is big and scary. His mother heartily laughs at him. But then she gets serious and firmly tells him to never judge a book by its cover, that you should always see past how it looks because they are never as they seem, that sometimes big and scary are not always bad. They can be good if you give them a chance to show you. He promises he won't and he will later learn in the future that that promise plays a very important role in his life. His mother kisses his forehead and gave him a smile full of pride. He wonders if his dragon will be as big as those in the books because that will be so cool.

Since then he asks his mother to read him animal books instead of story books. Sometimes, he would pick some fables that he thinks are interesting.

6 months later he is able to learn that they were animal spirits. It is a book about Native American folklore the clued him in what they were. But unlike the Native Americans’ spirits, the spirits he sees don’t just visit and guide. They are always there, never straying too far and never leaving. May be he is too young and have too little time observing the animal spirits to conclude this but deep in his heart he knows that this spirits are different.

Then he remembers the spirits wondering at their back yard where there are no people. May be those are what the Indians were talking about. May be there are different kinds of spirits and Stiles have a different kind that only he can see.

He wants to meet this other kind of spirit that the Indian’s were talking about. Stiles jerks off the couch and runs off to the backyard, startling his mother who was curiously listening as he rumbles about the spirits. Stiles faces the forest and calls out to the spirit, telling them to please come out and let him see them. His dragon, Drake, was keening beside him. Stiles was a bit surprised to hear it because it never made out sound. All of the spirits had always been silent. But the he heard a howls and growls and the leaves from the trees and the bushes rustle and there they are. Hundreds of animal spirits are entering their back yard and curiously coming to him.

A wolf leads the kingdom and stops in front of him. It sniffed him curiously. It seemingly finds something it likes for the next second, it bows down and then it was pressing its snout on his tummy. Stiles is afraid he’ll be assaulted by those weird feelings and he’ll feel sick again. But the feeling doesn’t come. He can only feel acceptance and love from the wolf. Stiles slowly reaches out for its snout and he is surprised to feel it, solid under his touch and not slipping through. Stiles feels delighted and he hugged the wolf. That seems to break the other spirits from some kind of safety zone they are in. They come to him, calling for his attention. He touches as much as he can, as many as he can reach.

“Genim?” His mother called. Stiles turned to her voice. She was standing at the top of the stairs watching him curiously.

“Mom! Spirits! They are all here!”Stiles announced excitedly and grinned at her. He motions for her to come down. Claudia tucks loose strands of hair behind her ears and she climbs down the patio.

“They are here, aren’t they?” Her mother asks rhetorically as she walks over to him. The spirits parts and makes a way for her. She walks glancing around like she was expecting something to appear out of the thin air.

“You still can’t see them.” Stiles says pouting when she kneels beside him.

Her mother shakes her head sadly. “No, I don’t pumpkin. But I believe you can.”

"But I want you to see them too. And daddy too. They are very pretty." Stiles says, hopefully.

His mother sits on the grass and pulls Stiles down on her lap. "It's okay, love. I think only very special people can see them. So you are a very special boy and that’s more than enough for me." Stiles smiles at her. "Genim, could you promise me something?"

"What is it, mom?"

"Promise me that you will only tell that you can see animal spirits to someone you love and who loves you just as much. Promise me?"

"Okay. I promise." Stiles says nodding seriously because promises are serious business.

His mother smiles at him and promptly asks him what animals are there. Stile begins pointing out the different animals all the while the wolf spirit lays down circling its body around them. Her mother relaxes immensely at the contact and Stiles tells her about the wolf. May be other people can't see them but they can surely feel them like the wind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stiles meets the Hales and learns more about what animal spirits really are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can someone make me an art based on this fic. Likes Stiles dragon playing with him.

They are shopping when Stiles meets the Hales and they don't have animal spirits. Not Talia, Cora or Laura. Not even Derek. But then he sees the aura enveloping the Hales. All of the children’s’ are blue while Talia's is red. Stiles squints and the auras becomes clearer and he can see the wolfs head covering Derek, wispy blue fur running along his exposed skin and he could see the long furry tail wagging side to side from Derek’s back. It makes Stiles giggle. Stiles is fascinated. He has never seen anyone so intertwined with their spirits. 

Stiles looked up into Derek’s eyes. He can see the blue light shining through the bright green eyes, glinting with brilliance when Derek looks right back. They are beautiful. 

"Wow. You look so pretty." Stiles says, awestruck.

Derek blushes deeply and Stiles could here Laura snickers beside him. "Uhm thanks." Derek says awkwardly and smiles shyly at Stiles. 

"I'm Stiles." He offered his hand and his dragon climbs down from his shoulder to his wrist, tail wrapping around his forearm for balance. 

"Derek." 

Derek grasps his hand. Stiles instantly feels Derek’s confusion and curiosity and happiness. Then all of the sudden his aura disintegrates and Stiles watches in amazement as it reforms into a wolf. It sniffs his hand and barks happily. It then nuzzles the back of his hand. Stiles tries to evade it because of the weird and bad feeling he gets every time he touches others’ animal spirits. But it is already so close, he just can't. Instead of being assaulted, Stiles feels it belongs and it is right. That something settles comfortably under his skin and he wants to run his hand through its head. His dragon crooned then it jumped on the wolf's head and hugged the wolf's neck. Its head nuzzles between the wolves eyes. Stiles’ smile widens when he still doesn’t get assaulted by that weird and bad feeling. 

“I like you!” Stiles says, looking up at the older boy and grinning. Derek’s eyes widens in surprise.

“Mom, Derek got a boyfriend!” Laura teases, practically shouts for the world to hear. Talia chuckles.

“No, I don’t have!” Derek says, glaring at his sister. Derek’s face is crimson red but he isn’t mad, Stiles can feel it through his spirit. Derek feels embarrassed and annoyed. The wolf has its ears dropped down and he can almost hear it whimpering. 

“What’s wrong?” Stiles asks, squeezing the older boy’s hand.

Derek’s feelings settle down back to contented and calm. Derek looks back at him with a surprise and awe. “Nothing’s wrong. Laura’s just being mean again.”

“Okay.” Stiles turns to Laura. “You! Stop being mean to Derek.”

“Oh my god Derek! He’s adorable!” Laura squealed pinching his cheeks. Stiles is assaulted by the weird and bad feeling instantly. Stiles moves away as Derek pulls Stiles away from Laura. His dragon hisses at Laura and Derek’s wolf growls threateningly.

“Don’t touch him.” Derek sternly tells his sister. Laura gasped at his brother’s tone. Talia watched them worriedly. 

“Sorry, I was just pinching his cheeks. I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Stiles shook his head because nobody really knows how it feels to be touched by another spirit.

“Just don’t do it again. It feels wrong.” Derek said tersely and a little baffled. 

“Stiles.” Claudia called, finally finds his wayward son. She bends over him and picks him up. Stiles has to let go of Derek’s hand, the wolf spirit disintegrates and reformed back to Derek. “What did I tell you when we are shopping?”

“To be close by… But mom. Derek has a very pretty light! And it’s blue!” Stiles told his mom excitedly. 

“I bet it is.” His mom agreed. She turned to Talia who was watching Stiles with avid curiosity. “I hope Stiles wasn’t much of a trouble to you.” 

Talia shakes her. “No, not really. He’s very interesting actually.” Talia said, smiling mysteriously.

“Mom, can I play with Derek? I don’t feel bad and there’s no weird feeling when I touch his light. Please! Please!” Stiles pleads.

“I don’t know pumpkin. It’s up to him and his mom. But I won’t really mind.” Claudia said. She looks Talia with her whisky brown eyes and pulling a small puppy pout. “You won’t mind, would you?”

“I see what you’re doing there. Would you like to play with him, Der?” 

Derek nods enthusiastically. Their parents agreed to let them play during the Saturdays after they both finished their homework.

Later, Stiles asks his mother what a boyfriend is. His mom explains that it’s someone important, someone he could potentially love, like how they parents love each other. Stiles surmises if he loves him like his parent may be he could share his secret with him. He’ll try to befriend the older Hale boy. 

Through the years Stiles realized that the animal spirits were special. They reflect a person's feelings. Like when his father was angry the Stag would shake its head and prance as if to attack.

Stiles was 6 when he noticed his mother's light growing dimmer. He told his mother about it because he knew light gets dimmer when someone is dying. It scared him the first time he saw someone died and his light dimmed dramatically before it faded into nothing like it was never there. He sees it every time they went to the hospital.

They went to the hospital that day and the doctors run tests and examination. Stiles held his mother's hand firmly when the doctor told them his diagnosis. Claudia has Leukemia, Stage 3.

Stiles was there when his mother undergoes treatments. 5 weeks into the treatment the doctor said she is getting better but Stiles knows better. Her mother is getting sicker and sicker. The medicines are hiding the symptoms but the disease was getting worse. 

Stiles is scared and he told her that if he noticed it earlier may be the medicine would have worked. He told her he was sorry. Her mother smiles at him, she tells him it is okay and that he is too young to know any of this stuff. She tells him how grateful she is that they knew about it this early because she can make sure that if she needed to go, they can say goodbye and tell them and show them how much they love each other. Some people don't get to do that. They are lucky to have that chance. "And is more than enough for me, pumpkin." she said.

Stiles hugs her, fierce and tight. He never wants to let go. He tells her he loves her. His mom hugs as fierce and as tight as she can.

Then one day, her light dims darker than usual. She calls Stiles to her side. She tells him she loves him and his father with all her heart. Stiles tells her he love her too. His father smiles at them and he kisses her hair, whispering three words and her mother smiles at him.

Stiles can see the spirit fading into almost seawater-like transparency. Stiles chokes back a sob but he can't stop the tears from falling. Her mother closes her eyes and let out one final sigh. Her spirit fades and vanishes completely. Monitors goes off as he starts to cry. His father pulls him into his arms and they both cried. 

Many people attend the funeral. The Hales were there. Stiles knows because Derek’s wolf had bounded after him and curled its body around him. His dragon had perched on its head, hugging the wolf at the same time. 

Weeks passes by and the two Stilinskis tries to go on their lives. It isn’t easy. Stiles get into more trouble and his dad drinks every night. A few more weeks passes, Stiles is at detention almost every day and a glass of whiskey becomes two, then three until his father is drinking straight from the bottle. Every night his father cries and every night Stiles will pull his blanket over his head and bury his head between his bed and his pillows to muffle those agonizing sound. 

Both of them can’t move on and both of them are spinning down deeper into their own sorrows. Until one night when Stiles has to take a midnight snack. His father has drunk himself to sleep again. Stiles catches sight of the Deputy’s animal spirit and it made Stiles’ blood run cold. The stag is glowing dimmer, faded and frayed at the edges. Stiles run to his father and wakes him up, shaking him until his eyes open. 

“Stiles?” His father blearily askes, eyes blinking sleep away. Stiles chokes back a sob and hugs his father and he cries. In between his cries, Stiles tells his father that he doesn’t want to lose him because he is all he got, to stop drinking and running his health down the drain faster than his mother’s cancer.

“I was just drinking, Stiles. A bit more than usual but I’m not… dying.”

“But you are fading dad, like how mom was fading. And I don’t want to lose you like how I lost mom.” Stiles cries sorrowfully and he hugs his father ever more tightly.

His father’s heart clenches painfully at his words. He promises that he will stop drinking, that he won’t lose him and that he’ll always be there for him.

Later, Stiles hunts all the liquor inside the hose and flushes all of it into the sink. And a lifelong battle for healthier diet insinuates between father and son. 


	3. Observations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Animal spirits can be a used as a good judge of character and more.

During Stiles’ stay in the hospital, he meets Scott, the son of the nurse taking care of his mother. Scott with his curly black hair and puppy dog eyes asked why Stiles was there. Stiles tells Scott his mother was sick.

“My mom’s here. She’s a nurse. My mom is a really good nurse. I’ll ask her to take care of your mom. Don’t worry your mom will be okay.”

Stiles smiles sadly at the other boy. He knows there is nothing that can be done to save her. It was not okay. But at least they can say their farewell to each other.

Scott’s animal spirit is a rough collie. If the crooked dopey smile hasn’t had him at hello, the dog spirit closes the deal for him. Stiles is sure that he and Scott will be joined at the hip for the years to come.

After then, Scot keeps him company every day. Scott plays with him until his mom’s shift is over and sometimes he will stay even later. His dad has volunteered to drive home Scott when it gets too late for him to walk home alone.

 

 

On Stiles first day of grade school, Stiles meets Lydia Martin, the gorgeous strawberry blonde genius sitting in front of him. She sits properly, never slouches and she has a very beautiful cursive handwriting that no grade-schooler should be capable of executing.

Stiles is curious of what kind of animal spirit she has. She doesn’t have one. But that can’t be because if there’s anything he learned about the animal spirits is everybody has one. As he looks for her spirit, Stiles notices the black butterfly perched on her shoulder.

Stiles stopped paying attention to his teacher and stares at the butterfly. At first he thinks it is just one of those accessories that girls likes to fawn over. But it’s black and none of the girls he knows ( _which is admittedly limited to his mom and Melissa McCall_ ) likes black. Then, the black butterfly flaps its wings. Stiles tries to blow it off Lydia’s shoulder. But it doesn’t move. It doesn’t even flail after the second time tries.

Stiles reaches out and touches it. He jerks back as Lydia shrieks shortly. She glares at him and moves away. Stiles can’t help but stare at the bizarre black butterfly which was now fluttering above the angry strawberry blonde girl.

He can’t believe what he is seeing. The black butterfly is an animal spirit. He doesn’t know how or why it looks solid or why it’s color black. When he researches it later, he still came up with nothing except that it’s closely associated with the death and the underworld. It is a little creepy, a whole lot of creepy Stiles admits to himself. But it’s unique and it piquet his interest.

 

 

Jackson Whittemore’s spirit animal is a black mamba. Stiles isn’t surprised. The blonde boy is short-tempered exploding like a hair triggered nuclear bomb, territorial and a _major_ jerkwad. Stiles is playing with Scott when Jackson just pushes him and spat how *beep* useless git he is. He pushes and shoves Stiles.

When Scott tries to help him, Jackson jumped on Scott and started beating him. Stiles tries to push the big bad meanie but he can’t. He isn’t strong enough. But he has another idea. He has never done it before but, push came to more than shove. He forcefully grabs Jackson’s animal spirit and touches as much of it as he can. Stiles immediately feels that weird and bad feeling. But he held on.

Jackson stops and shivers violently. He furiously rubs himself of something he doesn’t know. Stiles knows and he can feel it too. When Jackson starts screaming, Stiles let go of the spirit. He grabs Scott by the hand and bolted away from the scene.

Later, Stiles catches wind that Jackson claims he was haunted by ghosts and they are everywhere. Ever since then, Jackson has tormented him for embarrassment he caused. Stiles gets back on him by brushing past his animal spirit. Jackson get spooked every time and it is more than worth it.


End file.
